Larvateatteri and Vanha Paukku Cultural Center are the two lead community partners for SISU is in the Heart: A Play for Lapua. Larvateatteri has been producing plays in Lapua since 2010 and will be responsible for all production aspects including stage management, publicity, marketing, lights & sound, props, costumes and more. Many of their association members will also perform on stage or help out behind the scenes.

I'm excited and lucky to be working with this talented group of theater artists. Please take a moment to read the short interview below with association member, Pirita Latva-Teikari.

-PC

Interview

Park Cofield: How would you describe the company? When did it start and what was the first play?

​Pirita Latva-Teikari: First of all, Larvateatteri is an association, not a company. It was founded in Lapua in 2010 and has included experienced theater professionals and enthusiasts as active members from day one. Larvateatteri was also responsible for the construction of the outdoor stage at Luhurikka summer theater with funding from the EU. The first play was Purasen häät (The Wedding of Puranen) which is an old Finnish play. The audience gave Larvateatteri a warm welcome. The most recent production was this past summer's musical play Onnen maa (The Land of Happiness). The next production will be the classical play, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof by Tennessee Williams, which will premiere this winter.Park: What kinds of plays do you typically produce (classics, originals, etc.)?

​Pirita: In the summer, Larvateatteri produces classical Finnish "country-style" comedies​ for the summer theater Luhurikka. Luhurikka is very idyllic place in Lapua, surrounded by forests and fields. There is even a horse pasture behind the stage. In winter the issues are deeper, for example, The Diary of Anne Frank and Aarre, ryssän äpärä, a love story between a Russian prisoner of war and a Finnish girl. The play was a world premiere with music and based on a true story. It was a massive hit, praised by both critics and the audience!

Larvateatteri's production of Onnen maa at Luhurikka summer theater last year.

Park: How you are organized and how do you operate?

Pirita: ​We usually present 1-3 plays a year. Larvateatteri is open for everyone who is interested in making theater. That is one of our main principles. Everyone is welcome! We have a board of directors (Kari Manu, Pirkko Manu, Ritva-Leena Heikkinen and myself). When we start to plan the season, we ask for everyone's opinion on the play selection, not just the board. We send scripts by email to everyone in the association to give their opinion about which play should be next. We like to keep things open and democratic.​​Park: Where can people learn more about your work?

Esa is the producer of SISU is in the Heart: A Play for Lapua and cultural director of Vanha Paukku Cultural Centre. He is also the person responsible for making the production possible in Finland!

I was intially introduced to Esa through Antti Ojala, whose artwork is part of the permenant collection at the Lapua Art Museum. Esa agreed to set up the first story circles in Lapua with a groups of local teenagers and older adults and quickly thereafter offered to come on board as the producer and for the Cultural Centre to act as the lead community partner for the project.

Last October, Esa travled to Fairport Harbor, Ohio to attend the U.S. premiere and to observe the production process in anticipation of bringing the production to Lapua, and to establish a connection with the Finnish Heritage Museum. He even lent a hand with props and made an authentic vihta (a bough of birch leaves used to stimulate the skin) to use in the sauna scene that started Act Two.

I have already learned so much from Esa and I am looking forward to the work we have together in the next couple of weeks. Please take a moment to read a little more below.

-PC

Three Questions

Do you have any family in America?I know there are relatives from my mother´s side in the US because we have photos of them in our family photo book.Unfortunately, I don´t know anything about them. Though I´d like to.

What is your favorite family tradition?My favorite tradition is at Christmas time when the family gathers together. We perform an old children's play called the Wolf's Circle with my sons and grandaughters.

What does SISU mean to you?It is like the last drop of Maxwell House coffee!

Bio

Esa Honkimäki (Cultural Director) is a Lapua born cultural producer and the head of Vanha Paukku Cultural Centre. After graduating with an MA in Cultural Anthropology and Art History from Jyväskylä University, he has been working his whole career in field of arts and culture for Lapua Town Council.During the years he has made initiatives for art venues and projects, produced and organized art exhibitions and events of all kind. 10 years Esa has been music producer for Vanha Paukku Music Festival. He has created networks regionally and internationally especially with Co.Louth, Ireland as well as with Strangford Loch area in Nortnern Ireland. He has been responsible for several cultural projects financed by Europen Union Leader Programme. SISU is in the Heart will be the last production he is involved due his retirement in Autumn 2016.

About VanHa Paukku Cultural Centre

Vanha Paukku is a centre for culture and entrepreneurship unique both by its surroundings as well as its history, located by the Lapuanjoki river. The milieu, made up of old factory buildings, has a 200-seat Alajoki hall/auditorium, meeting rooms as well as a cafeteria. The Vanha Paukku area is also home to a number of entrepreneurs and operators. Movie theatre Bio Marilyn, Theatre Lapua, Lapua Art Museum, the town library as well as the Music Institute and the Adult Education Centre all function within the premises. In the summer there is also a river boat that takes its passengers on a cruise through the history and the surroundings of the area.Read more at: http://www.vanhapaukku.fi/etusivu

History - From a Cartridge Factory into a Cultural Centre ​The State Cartridge Factory was established in 1923 in order to ensure the national security of the newly-independent country. Not long after that the factory was put to a real test: during World War II, it played a significant role in the Finnish military operations as it made sure Finnish soldiers were never short of rifle cartridges. Tragedy struck in the morning of the 13th of April 1976 when an explosion in the loading department took the lives of 40 factory employees. After this national tragedy the factory operations were gradually moved away from the town centre. Today, Vanha Paukku is a versatile cultural centre that serves as a lounge area for locals and an enticing attraction for tourists. The events, businesses and boutiques at the cultural centre all come together and create a truly magnificent combination of culture, arts and crafts, experiences and – life. ​

I was introduced to Kati by my mentor and friend, John Bell. Kati is a Finnish scholar and puppeteer and we immediately connected over our shared interest in pauper statues (vaivaisukot) and community based theater.

​I had the chance to visit Kati in her hometown of Viiala in 2013 when I was in Finland for a family reunion. I was lucky enough to attend a street festival she directed and got to see her work in person. We met again in 2014, when Kati joined me in Turku to devise performance sequences with puppetry students and to share her doctoral thesis on the theatrical function and history of pauper statues on stage. Kati also invited me to speak about the SISU project and lead a story circle as part of a conference at the Centre for Practise as Research in Theatre in Tampere.

​Kati has been a project partner for SISU is in the Heart from day one and has provided endless support and advice regarding Finnish funding and insight about the Finnish theater system. Now that the project is returning to Finland, Kati will come to Lapua to choreograph three dream sequences in the performance and teach teenagers how to manipulate the large hand carved pauper statue puppets. I couldn't be more thrilled that she will be able to join us!

Please take a moment to read more below and browse the photos.

-PC

BIO

Katriina (Kati) Andrianov PhD is a director and researcher of stage animation, currently working as a regional artist in Arts Promotion Centre Finland. She has MA in Russian language and literature but also qualification for text adaptation and visualization for puppet theatre. She is one of the founder members of Theatre Group Stage & Fright (1997) and Cultural Co-op Kiito (2011), a multifaceted group of participatory arts practitioners. Since 2008, she has been a member of Research Commission in UNIMA - Union Internationale de la Marionnette. ​

FOUR QUESTIONS

Do you have any family that settled in America?

As far as I know, I don't have any family that settled in America. My father's family is well researched back to the 16th century but I don't know much from my mother's side . . .

If you could choose one ancestor to have dinner with who would it be?

I'd love to have dinner with my grandmother Ida (my mother's mother). She was born in 1905 in a small hut in the middle of a forest. Her family was so poor that the four children (Ida as the eldest) had to go and beg for bread. She never grew taller than 145 cm. She died in 1989, so I remember her well. She really got sisu... I miss her, I've so many questions to her.

Where do you feel most at home?

I feel most at home when I'm swimming with my son and my husband in the lake Arajärvi. It's an evening in July and the water is warm, clear and smooth. No wind, so I can swim silently towards the sun. No boats, not much people around - just the water and me. And my son's voice from the shore when he explains to his father what he just saw underwater.

What does "sisu" mean to you?

What does sisu mean to me, well - everything. It's impossible to live without it. I haven't gained anything easily but, on the other hand, I'm used to getting want I want, in one way or other. There have been times when I wished I could skip the sisu and just relax.

PHOTOS FROM PAST COLLABORATIONS

I'm very happy to announce that phase three of SISU is in the Heartis underway!

I have just returned from a week long trip to Lapua, Finland where we have started pre-production for a new production in partnership with Cultural Centre Vanhu Paukku and Larva Teatteri. The new production is an entirely new play, but will incorporate many of the same characters and elements contained in the U.S. premiere in Fairport Harbor, Ohio. The two plays are intended to speak to one another in a theatrical dialogue, posing questions, telling opposite sides of the same stories, and reflecting the lives of the people in both Fairport Harbor and Lapua. The new play will be presented as a staged reading with music and projected images of the work of my relative, Antti Ojala. The production includeds feature a large chorus, some people speaking lines and other singing stories from the region. There is a lot to accomplish between now and September, but my community partners have assembled an incredible team of professional theater artists, designers, and puppeteers to make it all happen. The photos below offer a glimpse at my trip and some of the work that is already underway.

Please mark your calendars now for the Finnish premiere in Lapua - September 16, 17 and 18, 2016!

In Finland, it is considered extremely rude to talk over someone in a conversation. In America, we add “un-huns” and “yeahs” and “yups” as we nod our head, rushing the other speaker, or quickening the conversation so that we can speak, share our thoughts, or get on to what we want to say.

​I’m guilty of this. I often think that by vocalizing and moving my head I am actively listening, responding in the moment, and affirming what the speaker is saying — but I'm not sure this is the case. When in Finland, I am always struck by the focus and attention I receive from the person with whom I am speaking. I suddenly become more aware of my words and the space my sentences are occupying. Finns are not afraid of the silence, and wait to make sure the other person is done with their thought before barreling ahead with a response. They leave space for what is next, taking one thing at a time.

Pauper Statues - Antti Ojala (2001-02)

The second phase of SISU is in the Heart begins today. What started as an impossible dream – two original plays about family, ancestry and my understanding of the Finnish concept of “sisu” – has become a reality. First, last fall, in Ohio, in Fairport Harbor, a small village on Lake Erie where my Finnish great-grandparents settled and called home, and now in Lapua, Finland, also a small village, very near the birthplace of both of my grandparents in a region known as Southern Ostrobothnia. Over the next week in Lapua, I will engage in artistic meetings, auditions, and planning sessions with local musicians, puppeteers, and designers to shape a performance for the community that will take place this September.

As I hoped, the project has always functioned as a conversation between two places, two cultures, two generations, and two families. Almost ten years ago this month, my mother, father and I arrived to exchange pleasantries with strangers, our "long-lost" Finnish relatives. We greeted one another, shook hands, and mostly likely talked over them in the excitement that came from finding the little red houses my mother had heard about since her childhood. When we left, a week later, it was clear to me that my conversation with Finland was far from over – but I had no idea my response would take many years to complete.

When I returned six years later, I attended a family meeting to represent my mother who was unable to travel. I was written in as part of the agenda (I was official family business!) and given space to talk about the American side of the Ojala family. The room was very quiet as I talked about all of the genealogy connections that I had made in the six years since the initial visit. My Finnish relatives listened – without interruption – to my idea for a theatrical performance inspired by their stories and the very buildings that made up their homeland (or perhaps just looked at me whirling my arms about and gesticulating wildly).

In the moment, they responded in the most Finnish way possible — a soup dinner, donuts, and coffee, but the extended exchange included months of answering questions, connecting the dots, and assisting as I plotted, planned, and moved forward towards my goal. The gap between each email always seemed longer than I wanted, but each response was filled with encouragement and warm welcomes. The replies were not slow, or delayed — but considered, polite, and affirming without “maybes” or “we’ll sees” or “write again when you know for sure”. They had agreed to move forward with me on this journey and welcomed the idea of a play.

It was not long before I returned to Finland to advance the conversation – this time collaborating directly with Antti Ojala in the studio, side by side as two artists. We worked mostly in silence, and sometimes choppy Finnish or English (his English is much better than my Finnish!) about the design of four pauper statue figures in the likeness of our mutual relatives, his grandfather and my great-grandfather. Even there, in the studio, the spaces between my questions and his answers resonated and echoed until the correct response was possible – sometimes as a helpful brush stroke, other times as a laugh, or a subtle acknowledgement that we were doing something quite special: bringing new life to our relatives. I spent the rest of the trip in Lapua listening and talking with others who were searching for family and to teenagers with big dreams for their small village.

Two plays, two places, two homelands. The play in Fairport this past fall serves as an offering to Finland — a call to respond. The actions, the words, the themes are not too different. The challenges, the struggles, the worries, quite the same. The play we will create over the next few months will belong to the people of Lapua. It is a chance to echo the stories, uplift the lives of those who were lost to America, and to deeply and earnestly respond to what it means to hold “sisu” in your heart. It is Lapua's turn to speak.

Day of Sisu is a global happening on February 28th to recognize and celebrate the strength that resides within each one of us. It was organized for the first time last year by my friend and colleague, Emilia Lahti, of SISU Lab. The inaugural events in 2015 included a book release in Helsinki, official proclamations, and local gatherings all over the world, including a sisu story circle I organized in Los Angeles (see below)!

This year, 2016, Emilia has posted numerous quotes and links to inspire mindful thinking and conversations with friends as you go about your day. Emilia talks about the Day of Sisu as "an idea whose time has come" and encourages us to use the day as a call to action to recognize and celebrate the strength that resides within each one of us. She also offers this beautiful reminder about our human resilience:

While we are fragile enough to be knocked down by something as small as a microbe, we also possess enormous strength to overcome seemingly impossible situations. What keeps coming up in my data is that even though the potential of ‘sisu’ is something within the individual, it is often best unlocked through the social dimension: with help from our friends. We hold great power to help each other remain resilient and hold on when things get tough.

For me, I'm using today as a moment to quietly reflect on how sisu has impacted my life over the past two years. This strange word has guided my artistic work, taken me into incredible sisu filled communities, and impacted my life on a daily basis. The video below is intended to introduce you to some of the incredible people I have met because of SISU is in the Heart. I find a great deal of strengthen knowing that I am not alone on this journey we call life -- and the reminder that the the only way to make it is to just keep going!

And one more thing. . .

5:00 - 6:00pm is the #HourofSISU (your local time). Whether you go out and gather with friends or spend today day in quiet reflection like myself, you are encouraged to do one thing that will benefit you, but that you have been putting off. It may be something that makes you feel uneasy or requires effort but which will help you push your boundaries in a healthy, constructive way. The goal is to turn these boundaries (e.g. fear, uncertainty, complacency or desire for comfort) into frontiers. Sisu Day is here to give you that nudge, support you and help you support yourself.

Meet Ross Duncan! Ross is the amazing Technical Director for SISU is in the Heart. He is responsible for realizing Natalie Khuen's set design and overseeing ALL of the other technical elements including lights and sound. This has turned into a gigantic show with lots of props, effects, and details, and Ross has been working his tail off to help us create the best possible show. We can't wait for everyone to see the set and all of his handi-work. If you see him at the theater, please be sure to say "hello and kiitos"!

-PC

Where is your family from / What is your heritage?My family is Hungarian, Irish and Native American. My grandmother was raised in Fairport after her parents came from Hungary and my grandfather grew up in the Buckeye Woodland neighborhood of Cleveland which was predominantly Hungarian. After they married, my mother and her brothers were raised in Fairport. If you could choose one ancestor to have dinner with who would it be?My grandmother Margaret Lakatos. She died when my mother was 4 years old- she was a T1 diabetic. We have a picture of her in our house dressed in her Csardas (Hungarian folk) dress, both if my children love the picture of her.Where do you feel most at home?At home with my family.

Lisa joined us in the rehearsal room for the first time tonight and taught the cast simple movements and gestures that will be used as part of the opening prologue and other choral moments in the play. It's all about hearts, hands, and heads!

Please take a moment to read more about Lisa below!

-PC

Lisa Yanofsky is a freelance choreographer, director, performer and educator based in Cleveland, Ohio. She has choreographed and directed over 20 performances including musicals, devised theater, opera and concert dance. She has performed and choreographed across the Midwest and Northeast United States and in Italy, Austria, The Czech Republic and Germany. Lisa is an active teaching artist and currently serves as the Director of Education and Outreach at Cleveland Opera Theater and a Teaching Artist at the Center for Arts-Inspired Learning in Cleveland, Ohio. She recently completed her Ed.M. in Art in Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education where she was chosen to be an Artist in Residence at Harvard's Project Zero. Lisa holds a B.A. in Art History and Dance from Oberlin College and a B.M. in Vocal Performance and Embodying Performance from Oberlin Conservatory of Music.

ThrEe Questions

Where is your family from?

I grew up in Boston but my father's side of the family is from Russia and my mother's side is from Ireland

Do you have any family legends or mysteries?

We don't have any legends or mysteries that I know of but we do tell the story of my family's escape from Russia and journey to the United States quite often. We also share the romance stories of the various couples in the family and those seem to become more fantastical and legendary as the years go by.

Describe a time that you did or did not want to leave home.

When I was seven my grandparents passed away and after a lot of agonizing my parents sold their house. Even though I was returning to my house, leaving my grandparents' home for the last time felt like leaving my own home. I've always thought about going back and knocking on the door to meet the people who call that house home now.

I'm thrilled to announce that Margaret Rose Gatzke, Fairport Harding High School's brand new Theatre Director, will be coming on board as the Costume Designer for SISU is in the Heart! We've already had a few great design conversation and you're in for a treat. She's got some really cool ideas in works and LOTS of bodies to costume.

Please check our the answers to her questions below, and visit the Facebook Page to see photos as we move ahead.

-PC

Three Questions

Where is your family from / What is your heritage?

My heritage is mainly Irish and Hungarian. My dad's side was half and half. The Irish ancestors came over sometime before the American Revolution and were blacksmiths. His mom's side was Hungarian and stowed away on a boat during the Bolshevik revolution. They were a Duke and Duchess and had to escape the country or be killed. My mom doesn't know a lot about her side. It's like a giant mish mosh of everyone. Turns out my grandma actually grew up in Fairport. She graduated in 1944.

Where do you feel most at home?

I feel most at home singing on a stage.

Which do you think about the most and why -- past, present, or future?

I'm pleased to introduce you to the newest member of the SISU is in the Heart team!

Kix is a professional theater artist who specializes in design from Tallmadge, Ohio. She will be joining us for the performance residency in Fairport Harbor, and helping to shape the world of the play with light and sound. Please take a look at the answers to the questions below and get to know her!

We still needs lots of people to assist with lighting and sound! If you'd like to help install equipment, or want to learn to run a light or sound board, please join us next Wednesday, August 26th at 7:00pm at Harding High School for the Volunteer Meeting, You can also email us at: SISUisintheHeart@gmail.com

Kirsten Nicole (Kix) University of Akron Theatre major. Mixed Media Artist, Lighting Designer, Set Designer, Sound Designer, Painter, Sculptor, Master Carpenter as well as Co-Artistic Director of Rubber City Theater Co. Technical Director and Production Designer of Ma' Sue Productions, Wandering Aesthetics and Assistant Tech at New World Performance Lab.

THREE QUESTIONS

How far back can you trace your family tree?

My family tree can be traced back to Daniel Boone on my mothers side and William Penn on my fathers. My family has a very strong Polish, Russian, German and Dutch backgroud!

If you could either go back in time or travel to the future, which would you rather chose and why?

I would love to go back in time! I love classics! Movies/theatre experience Vaudeville, the cars, the attire the attention to detail! The craftsmen ship of houses and furniture the art in such common items like gas pumps had such artist details! To live among the greats of the golden age of film! What does "home" smell/taste/sound/feel/look like to you?

Home to me is walking into the warmth of a theatre. Feeling the lights hit my face. Hearing the laughter of friends, family and mentors that teach me so much. Home is anywhere I can create! Build! Laugh and Love!